Vince Dransfield, 98, was a firefighter when Signac Fire Company No. 3 used a horse pulled engine. Here, he holds a picture of a blaze that his fire company helped to extinguish on Route 23. Black smoke billows across the roadway in the photo.

"They got the wagon from the chief of the fire department in Passaic," said Singac firefighter Vince Dransfield, who at 98 still fights fires. They called the horse "Chief," he said, adding that it wasn’t until 1913 that the fire company hooked up the wagon to an Oldsmobile engine.

Dransfield said during an interview at the Singac Firehouse Saturday that he has fought dozens of house fires and several major fires, including the one that burnt down Grandview Park in 1930 and the fire that burnt down the Colonial Inn, a club where Jackie Gleason once performed.

In particular, Dransfield remembers the fire at the Glover’s Tavern, which was near to the entrance of the Willowbrook Mall on Route 23. The blaze was so fierce that its heat shattered the windows of a plumbing store across the street from it, Dransfield said. At the time he was serving as the department’s chief.

"I told the men to go on there and start one room at a time," he said. It was not an easy fire to fight. "That’s the one fire that got away."

Over the years, the company adapted to the needs of the residents in their district.

Michael Burke, president of the Little Falls Fire Department and a member of the Singac Fire Company, said they got a boat from Wayne Township in 2000 to help residents during flood events. He said 30 percent of the residents in the Signac district live in a flood plain.

"We were concerned with the safety of our residents in our district," he said. They later secured an additional rescue boat, Burke said.

Singac Fire Company has a strong camaraderie he believes: "It’s really a family and it’s got a lot of tradition."

Dransfield, who also served as president of the fire department in 1982, explained.

"They created a brotherhood that you can’t beat," he said, adding, "We’re all firemen. We stick together. We make sure we know what were doing when we go into a fire."

On July 21, the fire company will celebrate their 100th anniversary with a picnic from 2 to 7:30 p.m. on Van Pelt Place. There will be food, beer, rides and children’s entertainment.